This invention relates to dental techniques, and more particularly, to a dental pin for use in retaining a bonding layer onto a tooth being repaired.
Dental pins are well known for use in retaining a superstructure built upon a dental understructure of a tooth. The tooth is cut down to prepare the understructure, a number of channels are formed into the understructure, and dental pins are inserted into the channels. The dental superstructure is then built up onto the understructure using standard dental techniques, being secured onto the understructure by the dental pins which aid in the retention of the superstructure onto the tooth stub. By way of example, one such dental anchor is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,937 which shows the use of an anchoring portion having a frustroconical depth limiting collar for restricting the insertion depth of the anchoring portion into the tooth understructure. A non-circular coaxial retaining portion extends from the anchoring portion which is embedded within the tooth superstructure. A manipulating portion is frangibly connected to the retaining portion and snaps off, by the limiting action of the collar, after the anchoring portion is seated into the tooth understructure.
Although superstructures are built up when the dentition is generally broken away or decayed so as to require the damaged tooth to be cut down so that only a tooth stub remains, other types of dental repairs are now known where it is not necessary to build up an entire superstructure. For example, bonding material is typically utilized to provide a thin layer on a portion of the tooth structure which may be damaged, chipped, or the like. The bonding material is used to fill in the crack or chip in the tooth structure, being retained directly onto the tooth enamel or structure.
While the use of bonding material has been found quite effective, the bonding material has a tendency of loosening from the tooth structure since it is only retained in place by means of the bonding nature of the material itself.
The typical prior art dental pins or dental anchors utilized for retaining superstructures are not at all suited for use with such bonding material since the pins or anchors are excessively large with respect to the thin bonding layer and the particular pin or anchor structure is not suited for use with the bonding material.
Accordingly, there is required a dental pin or anchor which can be utilized for aiding in retaining a thin bonding layer onto a tooth structure.